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Faculty

Karen Hansen Gellert

Description

Karen Hansen Gellert has been involved in many facets of music performance and education on Long Island. She received a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music in Double Bass Performance from the Manhattan School of Music. The majority of her studies were with David Walter, who even today is a constant source of inspiration to her. Ms. Gellert performed at the Aspen Music Festival as well as the International School of Double Bass at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, working with such notable bassists as Barry Green, Paul Ellison and Francois Rabbath. Ms. Gellert has been a member of the Westchester Symphony, Queens Orchestral Society and the Nassau and Stamford Symphonies. As a freelance performer, she plays with the Long Island Choral Society and Mineola Choral Society, among others. Teaching music has been the focus of her career thus far. She is presently the Orchestra Director at Elwood-John Glenn High School, where most recently her students performed at Universal Studios as part of the Stars Performance Series. She has been the Lead Teacher for Music in the Elwood Public Schools. Most recently, she has presented seminars on approaches to teaching the Double Bass at Music Education Symposiums in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties. She is actively involved in organizations that propel excellent music programs. She is past president of the Long Island String Festival Association (LISFA). She was the Double Bass Instructor at the Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts for 13 years. She is also past State Chair for the NYSSMA All-State Orchestras and is a frequent NYSSMA adjudicator and guest conductor for SCMEA and LISFA. Ms. Gellert is currently the adjunct professor of classical double bass, and on the music education faculty at LIU Post.